The Constellations - Southern Gothic
Rating
RIYL
GorillazPortugal. The Man
The Faint
The Roots
Release Date
06/22/2010
Label
Virgin RecordsTracklist
1. Setback2. Perfect Day
3. Love Is a Murder (feat. Cee-Lo)
4. December
5. Take a Ride
6. We're Here to Save the Day (feat. Asher Roth)
7. Felicia
8. Step Right Up
9. What I See
10. Weighing Me Down
11. On My Way Up
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Hah ha haah hah ha! Step right up! The Ringmaster has arrived. I’ll be guiding your little sonic journey through Atlanta-based rock-collective The Constellations’ debut album Southern Gothic tonight. Step right up! Step right up!
The album art is splashed with macabre imagery, all murky blacks, browns and grays, with an occasional flash of red. The divine and the demonic: hands from heaven, hangman’s nooses, white leather gloves holding red syringes crying heroin tears, ornate venetian masks carved into skulls, urns, ivies, pearly gates, withered trees, scales, blood-red flowers, pearl-white doves, and a mysterious veiled woman dead-center. It all reeks of a seedy dive or dim burlesque, a back-alley stumble past flickering streetlights, past a local club, thumping tunes and radiating heat seeping through the cracked vinyl-black front doors.
At the core of Southern Gothic is a nine-minute, funky revision of Tom Waits’ “Step Right Up.” The Constellations transform the track into a sum greater than its parts, all while staying true to their source, pulling off all of Waits’ characteristic grime and gravel better than Scarlett Johansson could ever hope to. His unashamed, unfiltered view of humanity permeates the remainder of Southern Gothic, which the band says is a snapshot of Atlanta, GA from the hours of 2 AM to 12 noon. Drugs, sex, alcohol, hipsters and hussies abound. Twisted apparitions of love and life lurk behind the album’s pop sensibilities: “Every single love is a murder / You gotta commit to survive.” The art of Southern Gothic, as well as its lyrics, are pretty tightly tied together, and the music follows suit to great effect.
In my Travie McCoy review, I praised his ability to bend genres, blending rock and hip-hop into a fun, easily digestible, power-pop conglomerate. Quite decidedly one-upping McCoy, on Southern Gothic The Constellations effortlessly combine more genres than they have band members into an incredibly diverse, yet markedly cohesive, experience that is constantly engaging. “Setback,” the first track, manages to incorporate indie rock, hip-hop, electrics and soul, while vocalist Elijah Jones’ punchy vocal delivery channels mid-90s Beck. Flourishes of keys, organ and crunchy synth-bass provide “Love is a Murder” with a jaunty, sultry grit. An almost regal-sounding, jangling keyboard backbeat and a chorus of handclaps and vocal harmonies make “November” an incredibly catchy track.
One of the album’s stand-out tracks has to be the lead single “Felicia,” a dignified ode to a lady who works what she got for a living: “With her cigarette lips and soldier tits / Yeah, they stand at attention with her hands on her hips. / She’s got a crocodile smile and switchblade style / Yeah, she’ll stab you in the back with her fingernail file.” Bluesy keys, tambourine and hand claps intro rumble underneath Jones’ gruff, soulful, Elvis Costello-esque vocals, and melt into the harmony-ridden hook, bolstered by guitar riffs and jazzy synth.
“What I See” might be the poppiest track on the album, and its heavy reliance on keys and understated vocal delivery screams The Faint’s indie-goodness, while “Weighing Me Down” quakes with verses that are absolutely dirty. Jones’ gruff rasps whisper over plodding piano strikes but flow into a southern-rock chorus more befitting a Credence Clearwater Revival track.
Obviously, Southern Gothic won’t be for everyone, but I’m convinced that within the album’s 54 minutes there is a little something for everybody. In writing Southern Gothic, Elijah Jones and producer B.H. Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective) have managed to pull together a cohesive smorgasbord of musical delicacies that never sounds piecemeal and patchwork. I recommend a couple listens regardless of your musical tastes—you’re bound to find something you like.
--Zach Roth
Comments
Portland, OR
I really like what I'm hearing so far from their myspace page.
Columbus, Ohio
I'm really into this band. They're just different enough, and funky enough, to pique my interest. "Felicia" is one of my favorite songs of the year.
Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes
Baltimore, MD
Decent. Like a couple tracks a lot, and kinda excited to catch them at Lolla. I like them musically, but I'm not crazy about the singing/rapping.
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